If Truly Blessed was a departure from the excellent Life Of A Savage 3, SD’s latest mixtape sees him continue evading confinement to any particular style. Young Chop drinches the record here and there with splashes of intricate organ melodies, while “Amnesia”, produced by Zaytoven & Will A Fool, makes for a more unusual track than you’d expect from this combination of artists. Both producers opt to not use their eagerly anticipated signature key work, though this familiar sound is still showcased by Will A Fool on “Rotation”. Metro Boomin completes the trifecta of standout heavy-hitters on an LP with very little features, but as with previous releases, suffers even less as a result. On the opposite shore, Dee Money samples “Dilemma” with therapeutic Lil-Mo era chimes running throughout; ‘Light up / Light Up / Light Up Your Smile’ fits perfectly with the elevating synth before a guitar takes over, appealing in a unique way to Jam City enthusiasts in 2015. This “Heartache Avenue” diversion of style gives him freedom which he evidently thrives in. Yet, it manages to stay within pre-rendered boundaries and therefore manages to not conflict with other more colossal songs on the tape.
The Midnight Episode is a duo based in Sweden (and possibly also Manchester) comprised of Nicola Cunningham & Karl Skagius. So far, they remain rather anonymous with a short bio and three mixes remaining to be all that’s out there to be found about them. It is through Kassem Mosse (a kindred spirit musically with Cunningham & Skagius in many ways, as one discovers listening to their broadcasts) that we discovered the latest of their mixes. A guest spot on the Future Music FM show with Austin Cassell, Midnight Episode put together a selection of spooky synth tracks, moody house (including an untitled track from Mosse, whose Ominira label is releasing an album by the pair sometime next year) spoken word recordings, techno, icy synth-pop and all manners of other fun, idiosyncratic music.
A typically unhinged trip through hell from Janus’ Lotic, recorded at last year’s Unsound Festival in Poland. Just about every rave music of the digital world can be found inside, deterritorialised by explosive mixing and relentless cultural clashes. As hardstyle is taught to speak with kuduro, there’s a distinct sense of dislocation and disorientation. These effects are fully explored in his terrifying and magical new EP for Tri Angle, “Heterocetera”, which came out earlier this month. Like the squealing alien fetus in Eraserhead that’s somehow kinda cute, Lotic’s dark intensity continues to enthrall us.
SXYLK and FXWRK (two constanant-loving makers unknown for the most part) sound like they produced their respective cuts for #IMF—Cakes Da Killa’s first stamp on 2015—while drunk on some type of dissociative elixir. While these abyssal, entrancing beats are what made the early moments of the EP feel so refreshing amongst a feed full of the usual, it’s the Brooklyn rapper who comes through jabber-mouthed with cogent recounts of racy intimacies that make it even more alluring. The title track is primed for a flip from MikeQ—it’s really a HA crash away from being one, and that prospect alone should indicate how well these songs probably work in a club environment even if it’s easy to imagine the rapper gasping for air midway through a set. As an electric, urban-underground outlet, Mishka’s record label is again the proper outlet for a Cakes Da Killa bundle.
Heavee has been making a big name for himself these past couple years as a strong newcomer from the Teklife crew. While he’s always had a strong foundation in footwork drum rhythms, it’s his synth work in particular that really set his sound apart. Where his previous single “Get Me Started” managed to intertwine footwork and jungle on a break net dance floor filler, on the new Drop Off EP, his usual signature rhythms are pushed to new areas. Heavee’s slight of hand moves effortlessly through the dense first track “Out There”, with bopping drums and a noodling bass line through out and “Impulse” merges proper acid and juke elements to become the EP’s standout track. Truancy Tip: buying the album off his Bandcamp will give you a bonus free four track EP, so get it while it’s hot!
